Finishing Maple Syrup On The Stove

Here's a short video I took of how we finish our syrup on the stove. I wanted to show how once it gets down to syrup it begins to boil over. For the video I actually took it off the burner then set it back on it again so that you can see how it rises up in the pan once the temperature starts going up. As the sap cooks down it gets more dense which creates more heat.

How we usually determine the finished product is by using a thermometer. When the temp gets to 7 degrees above the boiling point of water you have syrup. But, first you should check the boiling point of water that day because they say it can change a little due to the barometric pressure. This year however, our thermometer is broken so we just went by looks and taste. After 12 years of doing this most years I guess we can do that.

The real way to test it is to use a hydrometer which tells you the percentage of water that is still left in it. We've never used one so I think that is how it goes. In any rate making maple syrup is pretty easy. If you can boil water you can make syrup.